A mission to investigate the metal-rich
asteroid Psyche, which might be the exposed core of a long-dead planet, has
been given the go-ahead by NASA. The mission's future had previously been in
doubt after technical difficulties made it miss its 2022 launch window.
The Greek goddess of the soul, Psyche,
inspired Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis to name the wandering
celestial body he found in the night sky in 1852.
Later telescopic observations indicated
that Psyche was a giant, metal-rich asteroid with a diameter of 140 miles (226
km) that was orbiting in the central asteroid belt, which is situated between
Mars and Jupiter's orbits.
NASA's Space Launch System, a super-heavy moon rocket
The metal content of Psyche,
which makes up between 30 and 60 percent of its entire mass, distinguishes it
from the other million asteroids and more that are known to exist in our solar
system. The unusual object may be the exposed nickel-iron core of an old primordial
planet, the outer layers of which were blown off during a series of old
collisions with other newborn planetoids, according to a majority of
astronomers.
If this were the case, Psyche
would offer a rare chance to investigate the inside of a world that was likely
created in the chaotic environment that predominated in the region surrounding
our young star billions of years ago.
Normally, it would be hard to
observe a planet's core up close. For instance, the metal-dominated core of
Earth lies imprisoned 3,000 kilometres (1,800 miles) below the surface in a
fantastically high-pressure environment with a temperature of about 5,000
degrees Celsius (9,000 degrees Fahrenheit). These are not the best
circumstances for scientific research.
Psyche's exposed core thus
appears almost too good to be true, despite the fact that it is orbiting the
Sun in the hazardous environment of interplanetary space. Astronomers could
learn more about the development of the powerful planets of the solar system,
such as Earth and the many far-off exoplanets that have already been found by
analysing the planetary remnant.
NASA made plans to launch an
unmanned spacecraft to a distant planet in 2017 with the goal of exploring it.
Two solar panels will be used to power the spaceship, giving it an astounding
81-foot wingspan (25 meters).
The electricity produced by the
panels will also be used to turn xenon gas into xenon ions, which may then be
launched out of the back of the spacecraft to provide thrust, in addition to
powering the array of scientific instruments carried on the probe.
Prior to its eventual flight
aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, the Psyche mission is presently undergoing
rigorous testing.
The route to launch, however, has
not been easy at all. Psyche encountered a number of technical difficulties,
including problems with the probe's flight control software, which caused it to
miss its intended 2022 launch date. Due to the severity of these challenges,
both an internal study and an independent investigation were launched to look
into the mission's technical problems and determine whether it was still
feasible.
The independent review's conclusions are still being polished and will be made public at a later time. On October 10, however, NASA declared that the project would not be abandoned after all and that the organisation instead planned to launch the robotic spacecraft as early as October 10 of the next year. Over $717 million of the $985 million US dollar lifetime budget for the mission has already been spent.
If everything goes according to
plan during the launch in October 2023, the lone spacecraft would orbit the sun
for around three years before harnessing Mars' gravity to drastically change
its course in 2026. Mission managers anticipate the probe will re-encounter the
asteroid Psyche in August 2029, assuming this is successful.
The Associate Administrator of
NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, Thomas Zurbuchen, remarked,
"I appreciate the hard work of the independent review board and the JPL-led
team toward mission success. The lessons from Psyche will be
applied to every mission in our portfolio," the statement continued.
Psyche's potential to advance our knowledge of the interior of our planet and
its scientific breakthroughs during its existence excite me.
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